Qualifying
Two-time GTS Driver Champion Lawson Aschenbach scored GTS pole position for Black Dog Speed Shop on the global debut of the all-new Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Aschenbach’s 1:18.855 in the #10 Camaro saw him the first man under 1:19 ever in the class around the street circuit at St Pete.
“Obviously, it is very exciting to get pole in the first race debut weekend,” said Aschenbach, “It’s important we have success with this car for everyone involved in the program. Starting this weekend, we knew the car was pretty close to what we needed. It’s pretty surprising to roll out of the trailer and know we have a car that is going to be fast. It’s a testament to everyone at Blackdog Speed Shop, Chevrolet, Pratt & Miller, and everyone involved in this program, to be able to come out and be ready to go. Getting the pole is a pretty good feeling. We care about the race more than anything else and we really want to win this one for everyone involved.”
Sixteen-year-old Parker Chase took his #19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta G55 to second on the grid in 1:19.093 lap 0.238-second behind pole.
Race 1
Andrew Aquilante returned in fine form to the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, taking home the top spot in the first round of GTS competition in the tried-and-true #32 Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302, beating out a range of newer and new-to-the-series vehicles on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.
Aquilante parlayed his third-place grid position into a win in the 50-minute sprint event, while also securing the fastest lap of the race at 1:21.445-seconds. This fast lap also puts Aquilante in the pole position for the start of the second GTS race on Saturday.
Round 1 top qualifier Lawson Aschenbach driving the #10 Blackdog Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, lost the position on lap nine in the race at the recently-modified turn 3 and could not recapture the top spot from Aquilante, while he made a couple of late race charges before settling for second place at the checkered flag. Aschenbach set a new track record in qualifying with the debut of the Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R on Thursday.
Jade Buford, substitute-driving for the weekend, took the third spot on the podium in the #45 Racer’s Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 with his best lap time of 1:21.488 also good enough for the grid front row in Saturday’s second GTS race. Newcomer Rodrigo Baptista of Barcelona, Spain drove the #3 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4 to fourth in his first Pirelli World Challenge race.
“It all comes back to turn three for me at this track,” said Aquilante. “With the change, it was fun to see the unknown right there. PWC did a great job with the pace laps and then a couple of faster so the driver could experiment with the new setup at turn three. Initially, I went into the corner at sixty per cent and a couple of corners I went over the edge so I knew where I could go with the car. That’s the reason we came to this event because we knew the Mustang was strong here. Jack (Roush Jr.) won both GTS races last year here. It’s an awesome event here at St. Pete and track is so much fun to drive. There is very little room for error in some places but there are other locations that you can slide the car around. As soon as I could feel that I could get over the curbs, I knew the others would struggle there. I said ‘That’s where I will get the guys.’ I was able to set up Lawson for the lead and I was waiting for him to make a charge at the end. But my Pirelli tires really held up well throughout the race. To me it felt like we were getting faster and faster in some corners as the race went on. Now we will see what happens in Saturday’s race. It should be another shootout.”
Aschenbach was seeking a spectacular debut with the new Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, a new sports car recently developed by Chevrolet, Pratt & Miller and the Blackdog Speed Shop. But the Blackdog team didn’t receive their two new machines until last week.
“There was a lot of work and dedication, a lot of focus and many people behind this new Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R machine,” said Aschenbach.
“When you have people like Chevrolet, Pratt & Miller and Blackdog Speed Shop behind the project, you know you are going to have a great car. I was very surprised that we rolled off the trailer and ran strong. I knew we were in the ballpark after the first couple of laps in Thursday practice. You go to a track with a new car and you don’t really know what to expect. And, for us, it like plug and play. It has been a little nerve-racking. We put a lot of miles on the test car but the new cars (#10 and 11) have been at the shop less than a week. We shook them down at Savannah on the way to St. Pete. I think it is amazing that we just got the cars, shook them down, won the pole (with a new track record) and finished second and is a testament to everyone behind this car. Hopefully, Saturday we can do one position better.”
Meanwhile, Buford had even a shorter time to prepare for his first St. Petersburg event, as the veteran racer received the phone call to join the Racer’s Edge squad with local driver Jason Bell in the middle of race week. Buford won three GTS races in 2016 with the #45 Sin R1 GT4 sports car.
“It was a wild week for me as the Racer’s Edge team called me to drive the #45 car on Tuesday this week. Then I got a call to compete in the American Ninja Warrior TV show in April at Daytona. I am a rock climber as well as a car racer. I’m very excited. I didn’t expect to be here or for any of that to happen. I have never been to the St. Pete race before but I was told the track was really fun. And they are right. It is awesome to drive. I had some great racing with Andrew and Lawson today, nose-to-tail racing, and I was close to the walls several times today. I can’t wait to get in the car tomorrow for the second GTS race of the weekend. We are starting on the front row on Saturday, but the top three times are incredibly close. It could be anyone’s race.”
Race 2
Andrew Aquilante’s double wins at the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Petersburg enjoyed a local flair after a second dominant performance in the GTS division’s 50-minute sprint race with the #32 Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 at the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit near the St. Pete harborside.
Aquilante recruited a team of three local St. Pete area residents to assist himself and his father, Joe, in the paddock this weekend for the two GTS events and the combination proved to be a winner after he took the lead on lap three of the 34-lap feature and posted a 1.598-second win over Lawson Aschenbach #10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R and 16-year-old Parker Chase in the #19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta G55.
Aquilante started from the pole but lost the top spot in turn one to Aschenbach, who was debuting the new Chevy Camaro GT4.R in PWC action. On lap three, Andrew slid his older model Ford past the two-time GTS champion for the lead and Aquilante managed to hold off the pressure from Aschenbach to take another checkered flag in the 80-plus degree weather.
“The track was pretty good today, a little bit faster than yesterday since it was a little bit cooler out,” said Aquilante. “Lawson (Aschenbach) started pouring it on when we only had five laps to go and I thought ‘oh boy’ and actually a lap or two before that I started missing shifts and rowing through the gear box so I had to slow that down a little bit. That let him creep up and get a little closer, and I was waiting for him. The (local) crew guys have all been crew guys on our team before. It all came together and they all wanted to do it. I have to thank Rob Edwards, who used to be a St. Pete firefighter and worked this race years ago and has been part of our team for over five years, and Jason Vanjune, who lives down here and has been a part of our team for the past few years, and Drew Dale, who’s been part of the team for the past three years. It was a really fun weekend.”
Aschenbach’s new Camaro ran with the rear bumper dragging the ground for much of the race after Martin Barkey’s Mantella Autosport KTM XBow made contact with the Camaro in turn one on the lap two restart. Barkey was forced to the pits for repairs but returned to the competition and finished eleventh.
“On the restart, I had a feeling that someone was going to come up and I got punched in the rear,” said Aschenbach. “More importantly, I’m happy with the weekend with a brand new car that turned its first laps on Tuesday. Then we come here and finish both races, get the pole and the track record. Two second (place finishes) is pretty nice. Every car in the class is a GT4 class and (Aquilante) still has his old GTS car and it’s a testament to the series that they’re able to balance it and make it a fun race for all of us. I’m really excited for the Camaro GT4.R and can’t thank Blackdog Speed Shop, Pratt & Miller and Chevrolet enough for making this happen.”
Chase stayed right with Aschenbach’s dragging rear bumper throughout the event but couldn’t make the pass for second. It was another sensational drive for the high school sophomore who will race in the British GT Championship in addition to selected Pirelli World Challenge events in 2017.
“We had a third place car and a third place finish so I’m incredibly relieved,” said Chase. “The Ginetta is a great car, really reliable and really consistent. Harry Gottsacker and I are going over to Europe to race British GT in GT3 so it’s an honour to be working with Ginetta again in British GT and I can’t wait. I’m a sophomore (in high school) now and most of (my teachers) know what I’m doing, So, I just ask them for my work ahead of time and just sit in the trailer and do some work. I just got my (road-going) driver’s license three weeks ago.
Fourth place went to former GTA series champion Frankie Montecalvo in the #13 ANSA Motorsports KTM XBow followed by 17-year-old Harry Gottsacker in the #69 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta G55s, who had a tremendous wheel-to-wheel battle with PWC series newcomer Rodrigo Baptista of Barcelona, Spain, in the #3 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT.
Rounding out the top ten in Saturday’s GTS feature was Aschenbach’s teammate Tony Gaples in the #11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R; George Kurtz in the #04 GMG Motorsports McLaren 570S GT4; 17-year-old Nate Stacy in the #14 Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4 and Cameron Cassels in the #18 Case-It Racing Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4.
